Bloggerhythms

Although Bloggerhythms  spends the bulk of its web space offering its opinions on music, I don't consider myself to be a real critic because I mostly write about music that I like. It's much easier and a lot more fun to write about the good stuff. I get numerous requests from artists and publicists to review new releases, and I only reply back to them if I want to feature their work. I also don't have a desire to trash or destroy somebody's up-and-coming career. Just because I dislike an album or a song doesn't mean others won't think it's the greatest thing they've ever heard. I'm currently reading a 2006 biography - Billy Joel (The Life & Times Of An Angry Young Man) by Hank Bordowitz that spends more time than most books of its kind discussing how music writers/critics influence - or try to influence - the public's tastes. It's probably because Joel has always been more sensitive to their words than most musicians ...

I'm sure classical music fans will howl about the crimes committed by The Brian Setzer Orchestra so let this be a warning to those of you whose ears are easily offended: Wolfie and Ludwig never rocked like this. Even to Setzer's most ardent fans Wolfgang's Big Night Out may appear to be the biggest gimmick this side of Weird Al Yankovic but somehow it's a contrivance that works. I don't know if Setzer meant this album as a joke or not. He takes some of the world's most famous classical masterpieces and hilariously renames them after totally reinventing them. Beethoven's "Fur Elise" became "For Lisa," "Blue Danube" has flowed into "Some River In Europe," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" became "Take A Break Guys." The "1812 Overture" is now "1812 Overdrive." The title track was derived from Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" and Mendelssohn's famous wedding march wa...

When the final Ray Charles album, Genius Loves Company,  was released the duets album by Frank Sinatra immediately came to mind, and because I was disappointed with his effort I wasn't all that excited about Charles's new album. These kind of projects always seemed like gimmicks to me, especially when I learned that on Sinatra's album the guest vocalists were not in the studio with him when they added their voices to a song. It was obvious why the results were stilted and lacked emotion.  Genius Loves Company is very different. Apparently, duetting with Charles live in the studio was quite a privilege so each guest poured their hearts and souls into every note they shared with him. Michael McDonald possesses a voice I have never cared for but he delivered a surprisingly restrained performance on "Hey Girl." Together, B.B. King and his long-time girlfriend, Lucille, helped out on the appropriately bluesy "Sinners Prayer." Charles a...

I should have acknowledged the passing of the great Robbie Robertson - the late composer and unofficial leader of The Band earlier - but there have been so many nice tributes written about him already that I believed I had nothing pertinent to add. However, while looking around for something to say I discovered that the mostly Canadian quintet never placed any of their singles in the top twenty of the Hot 100 during their entire career. Their highest charting record was the double sided hit "Up On Cripple Creek" / "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" that fought its way to #25 in 1969. I considered writing about one of those two songs, but instead I'm going to discuss the first 45 RPM record the group released under the name of The Band. "The Weight," from their debut LP -  Music From Big Pink -  was very popular on FM, album oriented, rock radio stations, but it only managed to make it as high as #63 on Billboard's wee...

The British Invasion may have been tamed by the Colonials a long time ago, but our original ancestral homeland continues to bombard our shores with some great music. We mustn't entertain any thoughts about striking back with a counteroffensive because  Hardwicke Circus - an energetic, creative young band from the northern English city of Carlisle - has been sent our way. The Hardwickes are a top notch, rock and roll quintet with a vintage sound and modern passions. Fly the Flag is their second studio record and it arrives after a live LP they recorded in an English prison. The 80s have always been a decade I've dumped on - and these guys sound like that's where most of their influences come from - but they don't rely on synths and drum machines as their modus operandi. Yes, electronic keyboards are part of the mix, but this outfit isn't Depeche Mode. They use modern technology the way it should be used -...

During his time with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s, the great Jackie Robinson and his wife were having trouble buying a home in Connecticut. Despite his hard won acceptance as a sensational baseball player, many people - even those who rooted for him - did not want his family living in their neighborhood.  After a newspaper article detailed the Robinsons' failed attempts to purchase a nice suburban home caught the eye of a woman named Andrea Simon, she helped the Dodger legend fulfill his dream. Simon was the wife of Richard Simon of the renowned Simon and Schuster book publishing firm and mother of pop singer-songwriter,  Carly Simon . The two families became close friends. The Robinsons even lived with the Simons while the baseball pioneer's new home was under construction. The star frequently played ball with Carly and her family in the Simon's backyard and she grew up bleeding Dodger blue. (Tommy Lasorda would have been s...